HAL Veendam 7/8/12 to Bermuda Review

[andyandsue]

Hello! Fresh of the Veendam yesterday, with a little post-cruise vertigo to remind me, I decided to start my review.

 

We were unsure how we would like the Veendam, considering we have 2 kids and have read some, I'll say, unfavorable things. The 4 days in Hamilton, Bermuda was not something we could pass up after being there 3 days at the Dockyard last year. We were in cabin 672 aft on the 5th (main) deck.

 

-Embarkation was a breeze. You fill out health questionnaires, and begin the cattle-herding process. Suites had no wait. We were number 25 and we on board by I think 11:30.

 

-When you walk on to the Veendam in NYC you are on the 5th deck. There is no fancy atrium or lobby so there is no "wow factor".

 

- We were on deck 5 and our room was ready.

- The room was clean enough. Nothing stood out as dirty or unacceptable.

- We ordered the HAL teddy bear for our DD and the Veendam model for our son. They were in the room wrapped up with gift cards waiting for them, which was a nice touch.

- The beds were great. No backaches, and soft sheets with lots of pillows.

- Plenty of closet space for 4, the closets can be configured in many different ways thanks to shelves and moveable bars.

- The bunk hung over one side of the queen but it wasn't a big a deal. The sofabed was kept as a bed all week, so no sofa for us.

- They delivered children's life jackets to us before we left port.

- There were 2 robes which were very soft, as were the towels.

- Shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, and soap provided. The shower gel had a minty feel and scent which we all liked and thought felt good on a tired body at the end of the day.

- Room stewards were very nice and provided excellent service with a smile. They used our names and made sure we had everything we needed. Ice bucket always had ice, turn-down service always done.

- We had no real plumbing or A/C issues, but some did on the 5th and 6th deck as we heard them talking and saw the tell-tale drying fans out. Our toilet did not flush once, the button did nothing. We called maintenance but it flushed on it's own before they arrived so we cancelled.

- We noticed a sewage-like smell here and there in the halls, and in our bathroom as well. Turns out if they cleaned under the rim of the toilet, I think that smell, at least in our cabin, would be gone. I'll spare you the details.

 

- Lido embarkation lunch buffet was very good. Something for everyone, with nice views of NYC.

- Lido lines can be confusing. No obvious beginning of line or direction. Never had trouble finding a seat.

- Hand gel dispensers everywhere, hand washing machines fun and convenient. No pressure from staff to use either, but we did. We even saw the captain using the hand washing machine one day.

- Formal night in the Lido was non-existent. I felt overdressed in a simple maxi dress. People were there in tank tops and flip flops and some kids were barefoot, so don't worry about it if formal night isn't your thing.

 

-The casino is small but fun. I played $20 in poker machines and slots, and won enough to give me hours of playing time. There were poker tournaments here and there and blackjack specials.

- The shopping on board is limited but serves it's purpose if that is what you like. Perfumes, jewelry, alcohol and limited other wares.

- The kids programs were ok. We were told there were 300 kids on board for our cruise. My DS is a teen so he could come and go without much structure. My DD had more fun in Club Hal, but the photo on line is not what we saw on the ship, it's very small. The Oasis is for teens only but was always empty. The design was more for 'tweens, and they all wanted to go there more than the teens.

 

-Movie was fun in the theater. Free popcorn.

-Entertainment was average. That said, we are the NYC theater crowd and our standards are probably higher than most, so take my opinions here with a grain of salt.

-The Bob Mackie show was too cheesy for me and I left. Sorry!

-We thought the comedian was average-funny. He made a joke about the Costa Concordia which we thought was in poor taste.

-The magician was cute for the whole family. Adult jokes went over the kids heads.

-The piano bar singer was amazing. Worth checking him out one night.

-The string quartet was beautiful if you enjoy classical music (we do).

-The ship is small enough that you can find your way around, and it never felt crowded. Lines were small, hot tubs and chairs available.

-Food was very good to excellent all over the ship. Pizza was edible but not fabulous. Deck BBQ was great. Dessert Extravaganza fun but crowded.

-The elevators were fast and furious! There was not a lot of waiting around for them which was great.

-The bow! You could go on the bow of the ship during sail-away. Need I saw more here? :)

 

-Disembarkation was also a breeze

-We chose the later checkout 9:00-9:30, so had some Lido breakfast and made our way to our room for our last minute gathering of items.

- Room stewards, not ours, wanted to get in the room to strip the beds before our color/number was called, which was a bit inconvenient for us, as they left the bunk mattress on the queen bed, and the sofabed was taken apart so there was no place to sit.

- Our color/number was called. We were able to promptly leave, found our luggage and got through customs.

 

Here are the few things we did NOT like.

-Lido lines were confusing.

-The aft deck big screen TV did not work, which was a disappointment.

-The Lido had no bar, so you had to find a server for a bar drink.

-The aft pool deck bar had a problem with their cash register, the drink cards would not work there.

-We had to see the nurse for a large band-aid for my son, and she wasn't very friendly, nor did she care why.

-The Lido closed down by 8 pm, and no food really available other than room service from 8-11 pm which seemed to be the time when my kids wanted to snack before bed.

-Room service was prompt (except during 8-11 pm) and food good, but every time there was something wrong or missing from the order, not a big deal.

-2 of the 5 Microsoft Surface games in Mix were not working.

-The ship did rock and roll quite a bit more than the larger ships. It was only a problem for me though, since I am the only one who gets seasick. Medication was necessary for me on sea days. I found the midship embarkation spot on 5 had couches and the atrium on 6 was a good spot too.

-The Oasis waterfall pool did not work.

-The HAL cats, the main band on the ship, we like a cheesy wedding band, and the music they played was for a much older crowd (we are 45 BTW).

-The basketball hoops needed replacing.

-The basketball and tennis courts were over the Lido and LOUD banging was constantly heard during dinner.

-There was a smell of varnish constantly during our stay in different areas of the ship.

-WiFi did not work in our room, or many other spots throughout the ship.

-The temperature was very inconsistent throughout the ship. As you walked through, one space freezing cold the next space very warm.

 

I hope this helps someone make a decision. If I can think of anything else I will add it.

[aliaschief]

Very well written review. Thanks for sharing your cruise experience.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for doing a review of your cruise on the Veendam.

[Rgtouro]

Just what I needed to hear to get me more excited when I cruise this Sunday!

 

Thanks for taking the time to review! :D

[irisheileen]

Thanks for your review!

 

We are on the Veendam Aug 12 and I have helped a coworker book her 1st cruise and 1st vacation since their honeymoon 20 yrs ago! They will also be going on the Veendam the week before us. I'm a bit anxious hoping that they love it!

 

We had no real plumbing or A/C issues, but some did on the 5th and 6th deck as we heard them talking and saw the tell-tale drying fans out. We are also on deck 5 - which part of deck 5 had issues, please?

 

-The bow! You could go on the bow of the ship during sail-away. Need I saw more here? Could you tell me which deck it is on and is the entrance easily found?

 

-2 of the 5 Microsoft Surface games in Mix were not working. How disappointing! Any other recent cruisers find this to be also true on their cruise?

The Oasis waterfall pool did not work. What is the Oasis? :o

 

There was a smell of varnish constantly during our stay in different areas of the ship. I've seen this report about paint etc being overwhelming this summer. Is this repair being done each week throughout the ship?

 

Thanks again!

Edited July 16, 2012 by irisheileen

[nanners]

andyandsue,

 

You mentioned there was shampoo and conditioner. Are they separate or is it a combination? I need real conditioner not shampoo/conditioner combo.

 

Thanks, Nanners

[andyandsue]

andyandsue,

 

You mentioned there was shampoo and conditioner. Are they separate or is it a combination? I need real conditioner not shampoo/conditioner combo.

 

Thanks, Nanners

 

It was a separate shampoo and conditioner. I brought my own, so I didn't try it, but my daughter didn't like the smell. It smelled very herbal to me, but I didn't find it unpleasant. The brand is Elemis, which is quite expensive now that I've looked it up. I plan on treating myself to the shower gel. :)

[kazu]

andyandsue,

 

You mentioned there was shampoo and conditioner. Are they separate or is it a combination? I need real conditioner not shampoo/conditioner combo.

 

Thanks, Nanners

 

Nanners - they are separate on all of the ships:)

 

andyandsue - thanks so much for your review - very well done and muchly appreciated. I've never had any luck gettting wifi in my cabin no matter how close I am to the cone unless my door is open - I just hit the crow's nest or wherever.

 

thanks for taking the time to share your experiences with us:D

[ShipsAreTheBest]

 

We had no real plumbing or A/C issues, but some did on the 5th and 6th deck as we heard them talking and saw the tell-tale drying fans out. We are also on deck 5 - which part of deck 5 had issues, please?

-The bow! You could go on the bow of the ship during sail-away. Need I saw more here? Could you tell me which deck it is on and is the entrance easily found?

 

-2 of the 5 Microsoft Surface games in Mix were not working. How disappointing! Any other recent cruisers find this to be also true on their cruise?

The Oasis waterfall pool did not work. What is the Oasis? :o

There was a smell of varnish constantly during our stay in different areas of the ship. I've seen this report about paint etc being overwhelming this summer. Is this repair being done each week throughout the ship?

Thanks again!

 

I haven't been this year, but had three trips on the Veendam the last three years, so here's some answers. Sorry, couldn't figure out how to change my responses' color - so they are posted below in the order of your questions above:

 

That depends. Problems, when they occur, can move around. A lot of it has to do with air flow. Last year, we were in 680 (very near andyandsue's 672). Our cabin was warm. We mentioned it to our cabin stewards, and someone came by and checked. A few days later, someone from engineering came and opened the ceiling panel up (between the bathroom and closets). They tweaked the control air supply to the damper, it opened up, and we had great air flow after that. I suspect a lot of the Veendam's A/C problems (when they occur) are controls related. Since every cabin has a thermostat (controlling that damper I just mentioned), it must be challenging keeping 600+ cabins working correctly on a 16 year old ship. I didn't let it ruin my trip, and that was the only time we had an A/C problem on this ship.

 

You access it from Deck 6 (Lower Promenade) all the way forward. In the front of the ship, there are two stairwells that climb all the way up to Deck 11 (Lido Deck) and the various observation decks along the front of the ship. You go up one level (to Deck 7 - Promenade Deck) and you will see a doorway on the front bulkhead. If it's closed, they don't want you out there. (It's a heavy, metal door with "dogs" - the latches that go around the perimiter of the door to secure it at sea). When they will permit you out there, they open it and secure it in the open position.

 

No report, since I haven't been on board since July '11.

 

The Oasis is a teens only area above the Loft (which is on Deck 12). It's right behind the stack. It's a neat place, but teenagers don't seem to use it. They seem to spend time everywhere else on the ship!

 

Can't say about this summer, but maintenance goes on all the time on all ships. When they are in port, and the weather is good, they are able to to a lot more!

Edited July 17, 2012 by ShipsAreTheBest

[andyandsue]

Thanks for your review!

 

We are on the Veendam Aug 12 and I have helped a coworker book her 1st cruise and 1st vacation since their honeymoon 20 yrs ago! They will also be going on the Veendam the week before us. I'm a bit anxious hoping that they love it!

 

We had no real plumbing or A/C issues, but some did on the 5th and 6th deck as we heard them talking and saw the tell-tale drying fans out. We are also on deck 5 - which part of deck 5 had issues, please?

 

-The bow! You could go on the bow of the ship during sail-away. Need I saw more here? Could you tell me which deck it is on and is the entrance easily found?

 

-2 of the 5 Microsoft Surface games in Mix were not working. How disappointing! Any other recent cruisers find this to be also true on their cruise?

The Oasis waterfall pool did not work. What is the Oasis? :o

 

There was a smell of varnish constantly during our stay in different areas of the ship. I've seen this report about paint etc being overwhelming this summer. Is this repair being done each week throughout the ship?

 

Thanks again!

 

Deck 5, the issues that I saw were port side, mid-ship in an outside room, they were blocking the hallway working on the plumbing in the wall/ceiling. We were aft so it was nowhere near us. Deck 6 I have no info on but there was an older couple talking to someone saying their room flooded so they were put in a Verandah room. One of the Lido Buffet bathrooms also had a plumbing issue and was closed.

 

The bow access was on deck 6/7. Go all the way to the bow on deck 6, and go up to 7 from a glass enclosed stairway that you'll see. The bow doors will be right at the top front. If those doors are open you can go on the bow. It was very windy, but very exciting to be on the bow.

 

The Oasis is a top deck that is reserved for teens. I hear if there are no teens on board they will open it up to everyone. I didn't see one teen up there the entire cruise. My almost 11 year old and her friends thought it was the coolest place on the ship and wished they could hang out up there. I took a look at it, and while very nicely done, teens don't seem to find things like that "cool" anymore so sadly, it was waste space.

 

The surface games not working was disappointing more than anything, because we had to wait around for one to open up to play games, as they were popular.

 

The varnish smell was odd becuase there was no rhyme or reason as to where or when we would smell it, and we did not actually see any work being done but it must've been. They did re-varnish the railings by the Lido bar one night, but the next day there was no smell.

Edited July 17, 2012 by andyandsue

[andyandsue]

Three more things just came to mind...

 

- Deck 5 aft is an excellent deck/area if you cannot do a verandah. There is a small, what felt like private aft section. We were the only ones out there every time we went to it. It gave a unique perspective of the tug pulling us out of NYC. Also saw a whale during our trip from the aft deck! Saw the water spout and the tail flip in the air. We were also steps away from the doors leading to deck 6 and the deck there.

 

- The ship is very quiet at night, other than the nightclubs and casino/shopping on deck 8. If you got back to the ship from Hamilton at say, 8:30 pm, dinner was over in the Lido and they closed the pools and hot tubs most nights by 9:30. We knew this wasn't a "party ship" and were fine with that but honestly had visions of quietly sitting in the hot tubs on the aft deck watching a movie on the big screen...

 

- The other comment is the elevators are sort of funny in that the decks have names (A, main, promenade, Lido, etc) and the room numbers don't match up to the deck numbers, so our cabin 672 was on deck 5. In the elevators they have the names of the decks announced in the elevator voice, but then sometimes you have to look over at the map on the wall to see what number deck it is. Made us laugh but I'm sure it could confuse some folks.

Edited July 17, 2012 by andyandsue

[PaulaS8071]

Hi,

On the same cruise as andyandsue. Great review and they pretty much nailed it, and I agree with almost everything as posted. But a little bit of a different perspective in a few areas, so I will explain and I am going to kind of follow andyandsue's format as it helps me to remember:

We were traveling as a couple, after many, many years of cruising as a family. Our boys are now both in college, but I can remember my years of Club HAL very well!

Embarkation: definitely easy, but we were in an "S" suite, so we are well taken care of. In fact, I think they made more of a fuss over the suite passengers than we usually experience. Even ushered us into a private waiting room for the few minutes before we were escorted onboard. We were in Suite 23, which is right across from the Neptune Lounge and a great location. The room wasn't overly cool, almost uncomfortable. We noticed the thermostat was set as cool as possible. Mentioned it to the concierge, she said it is usually like that on embarkation day when the ship is wide open and all the hot air gets in. And it was hot in NY last weekend. She was right, after that afternoon the cabin cooled off. Can't ever say it got cold, but it was certainly comfortable.

We went to the mariner's luncheon in the dining room for lunch. It was very nice. We asked for a table for two and we got it.

I loved sail-away! I have been to NY numerous times, but never from the perspective of a ship. What a beautiful sight. The buildings of Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty! And to make it even better, there is a narration. Because of this, we watched, not from our balcony but from the Aft deck. The narration was great, it was nice knowing which areas you were passing through and having the landmarks pointed out.

Dinner that night in the Pinnacle Grill. What can I say? The Pinnacle Grill is just the epitome of wonderful dining. We live right outside New Orleans so we know what good food is all about. But the service and the ambience in the Pinnacle are what it is all about. Don't get me wrong, the steaks are wonderful, but for me it is not so much about the food as the atmosphere. And the PG has it all going on! We did go to the show the first night, as I like to see the CD and so forth. I was somewhat impressed with the talent of the performers, but we, like andyandsue, frequently go to Broadway shows, so we are really not interested in attending Broadway-type productions. So that was the only night we attended the show. Instead, we usually scope out the entertainment offerings in the show lounges. Well, this time we hit the jackpot. The Ocean Bar which always has the generically named band the Neptunes (if you are not familiar, every ship has either the Neptune Lounge or the Neptunes, etc., just like the HAL Cats) There we found Harvey Finstein! We thoroughly enjoyed his music, so there we went every night, both pre and post dinner (excluding the nights we made our donation to the casino) I agree with andyandsue that the piano bar player was very talented, but we like the piano bars where everyone gets rowdy and sings along, and this was not it. So Harvey every night it was for us.

Dining room food was as good as we've had lately on HAL. We did eat Pinnacle three nights of the seven, including the Le Cirque (which was wonderful), but the dining room I thought was better than this past December on the Westerdam.

Bermuda-Loved it! We are avid tennis planers, played 3 of the 4 mornings in Hamilton. Elbow Beach was beautiful! Horseshoe was beautiful, too, but way too crowded. If I go back, I will stick to Elbow. Be aware, the food and drinks on the island are very expensive. i.e.-$25 burgers at Elbow, and a glass of Kendall Jackson Chardonnay (my brand!) was $18. Yikes! Take me back to the ship!

The people in Bermuda are so, so friendly. And the island is very clean. We definitely want to return, but HAL is not doing it next year, so we may wait. I don't think I would go there for a land-based vacation, due to the prices, though we played tennis and had lunch one day at the Southampton Fairmont, and it is a beautiful resort.

I never, never smelled any sewerage smells on the ship, though the previous poster said they were on the lower decks and we never went down there. Our cabin was on 10, the lido on 11, the dining rooms on 8, so that was about as far as we went, other than our morning walk every day around the promenade on 6. I laughingly told my husband last night that I think this is the FIRST cruise we have ever taken where the toilet flushed the first time every time.

That's all I can think of for now. Any questions?

PS-andyandsue, were you part of the roll call? I chimed in a few times, but got very busy and never got back. Did you have a meet & greet? If you did, sorry I missed it!

[andyandsue]

Oh yeah- the narration was great! Since we are from the area, I completely forgot about the NYC narration since it wasn't of much interest to us. That was a nice touch though. Going into Bermuda there was a narration as well, which we thoroughly enjoyed.

 

I noticed on my review I made a typo. We did not like the HAL cats. I wanted to say "They were like a cheesy wedding band", not "we like"...

 

We were on the roll call, but missed the meet and greet breakfast- twice! So disappointed we missed it.

 

And one more thing to add, the front desk has aspirin and Tylenol free of charge, but not ibuprofen, so make sure to bring your advil, etc. if that is your pain reliever of choice! I gave some Advil to another passenger at the front desk when she found out they didn't have it and she forgot to pack it, but had a terrible stiff neck.

[irisheileen]

Thanks for your answers!

[erewhon]

andyandsue,

 

Thank you for taking time to write your review, which I enjoyed reading.

[erewhon]

PaulaS8071,

 

Thank you for writing your review of this cruise.

[Krazy Kruizers]

PaulaS8071

Thank you for sharing your review of the cruise.

[Krazy Kruizers]

andyandsue

Thank you telling us about the good and the bad. I enjoy honest reviews.

[Krazy Kruizers]

andyandsue,

 

You mentioned there was shampoo and conditioner. Are they separate or is it a combination? I need real conditioner not shampoo/conditioner combo.

 

Thanks, Nanners

 

The shampoo, conditioner and bath gel all come in separate dispensers:

[mamaofami]

Hi,

Well, this time we hit the jackpot. The Ocean Bar which always has the generically named band the Neptunes (if you are not familiar, every ship has either the Neptune Lounge or the Neptunes, etc., just like the HAL Cats) There we found Harvey Finstein! We thoroughly enjoyed his music, so there we went every night, both pre and post dinner (excluding the nights we made our donation to the casino) I agree with andyandsue that the piano bar player was very talented, but we like the piano bars where everyone gets rowdy and sings along, and this was not it. So Harvey every night it was for us.

 

We first met Harvey on the Maasdam in June of 2011 and thought he was wonderful. This year, on Veendam, we bumped into each other on day one in front of one of the elevators. We went to hear hime every night because he does such a great job playing the piano and singing and getting people up to dance. He's a real treasure. He'll be on one of the HAL ships to Hawaii this year so look out for him.

[Mark]

I agree with Andy and Sue and I was on the July 8 cruise...everything was fine and I did love the Veendam! However, there are two areas that need improvement and fixing that I just read on the review page

 

Dining Room Service was horrible...it really sucked big time! You could place your order and sit there for an hour waiting for anything to eat! The quality and taste of the food was quite good but the service was just awful and we did have assigned seating for a table for two at 8PM.

 

The mid-ship pool on Lido deck is way too small for the ship. And when they allow children and young kids to PLAY in it unattended inlcuding jumping into the pool the adults have to leave. There is no pool for adults only like on Carnival ships and Holland America permits parents to bring their children onboard and go anywhere they want and do anything they want unattended and unsupervised. I am disappointed that HAL did not have ship personnel around to police the activities at the pool...I do not blame the children...they are after all just kids and do not know any better but I do blame HAL and their parents for ruining what would have been a perfect cruise. By the way, HAL had to shut down the pool the last day in Hamilton since they found a diaper floating in the pool and could not empty it until 12 miles out at sea! If children with diapers are not allowed in the pool...how did it get in there?

 

Personally I do not understand why parents would want to take their children on a Holland America cruise rather than Norwegian, Disney, Carnival or Royal Carribean...all of which have ships leaving from NYC area piers...but for me the children issue was a turnoff and I will go back to sailing with Carnival or maybe try Princess or Celebrity!

[MFH]

I was on the same cruise, and agree with the slow service in the dining room. On the last night, we went at 5:30 (we had open seating) and were seated right away. The serving was so slow that when finally we were brought desert, the waiter told us we had to hurry because they had second seating coming in and needed the table. He was polite, but it was not our fault they took so long to serve our food!

The kids in the pool were having a great time, but it did mean that adults couldn't really enjoy the pool. I was sitting by the pool and watched them running and jumping in. It didn't effect me, but I did see adults getting out of the pool because of it.

We also enjoyed Harvey and we loved the Adagio Strings.

[andyandsue]

We did not eat in the main dining room. I had read this ahead of time, so we stuck to the Lido and Canaletto for convenience and variety, and we were all happy as the food was very good.

 

HAL has children's areas, but honestly if they were more interesting and staffed better (for instance allowing the 'tweens into the empty oasis area, or fixing the oasis waterfall pool, or the big aft screen) the kids would congregate there instead, especially when there are 300 of them (which is a large passenger percentage for this smaller ship) on board in July.

 

I agree 100% the pool is too small and was filled with kids, however, mine were 2 of 17+ in the pool that I counted, and there was HAL staff there. I asked my kids about it at the time, and the HAL staff actually allowed the jumping. HAL should consider scheduling adult-only time in the pool, which is actually what our local pool does. I wouldn't be offended if they had an adult-only time here and there, especially not on a small ship with one small pool.

 

My kids heard from another child who saw, that someone vomited in the pool. Not sure what the real reason was but I didn't put it in my review because that isn't something that the ship could have done better in my opinion. They had to empty it on Friday and take care so others did not get sick from bad pool water. Everyone was allowed back in the pool on Saturday AM.

 

Sorry my kids ruined your cruise- yeah, not really. Unfortunately Mark's comments are a perfect example of the reason we were not sure of cruising with HAL. The bottom line here is don't cruise in mid-July if you don't want to cruise with kids (remember, there were 300 of them on board), or find an adult-only cruise or one that has no children's facilities... My mom was on NCL in early June and she said there weren't many kids on board, and NCL is known more as a family cruise. We were told by many that the ship would be filled with kids, in July with a 4-day Hamilton itinerary, and we were told correct. We met other families who had the same opinion. The last season of 4 days in Hamilton, only 1 day at sea both ways, we decided it was the best option to maximize port time.

 

I have to say I am ever-so-slightly offended that instead of constructive comments or questions on the review, the thread was hijacked to complain about the kids- MY kids, which were obviously included in my review as part of our family cruise. I invite you, Mark, to write your own review to complain about the kids who "ruined what would have been a perfect cruise", from your perspective.

Edited July 17, 2012 by andyandsue

[PaulaS8071]

I didn't feel the kids were at fault. The pool area is just way too congested. My husband and I both agreed that they should have left the rear pool. It really doesn't make much sense to have one pool in a ship that size. We couldn't get chairs around the pool the last sea day anyway, so we headed to our balcony and enjoyed the lounge chairs there.

Mark, you are going back to Carnival to avoid children??? Granted, I haven't been on Carnival in almost 12 years, but back then they were the noisiest, rowdiest cruises of all.

Paula

[PaulaS8071]

Oh, and our service in the MDR was not slow at all! And we also had a table for two, 8 pm seating. Maybe it depends on your server and how many tables they have to serve? I don't know, but our courses came out one after the other like clockwork.

Paula